Given the importance of Notch signaling in the establishment of other CD4+ T-helper cell subsets, the authors investigated whether canonical Notch activation could differentially impact T follicular helper and T-helper type-2 cell fate during the induction of type-2 immunity. [Mucosal Immunol]
Full Article

Investigators found the attenuated autophagy status during ex vivo expansion, which lead them to determine whether tTreg cell survival could be augmented by miR-142-3p, the miRNA which is highly expressed in tTreg cells and potentially targets autophagy-related protein-1, ATG16L1. [Cell Death Dis]
Full Article

The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) announced plans to establish the new UPMC Immune Transplant and Therapy Center, with much of its activity planned within an eight-story innovation hub—all part of a concerted effort to harness the power of the human immune system to treat and cure a wide range of diseases. [The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center]
Press Release

Kite and Sangamo Therapeutics, Inc. announced the companies have entered into a worldwide collaboration using Sangamo’s zinc finger nuclease technology platform for the development of next-generation ex vivo cell therapies in oncology. [Sangamo Therapeutics, Inc.]
Press Release

Merck & Co., Inc. (MSD) and Viralytics Limited announced that the companies have signed a definitive agreement under which it is proposed that MSD, through a subsidiary, will acquire Viralytics. [Viralytics Limited]
Press Release

It’s the end of an era at the European Commission’s research department: The most powerful civil servant in Brussels’s science policy circles, Director-General for Research and Innovation Robert-Jan Smits, is leaving his post. [ScienceInsider]
Editorial

More than half of government scientists in Canada—53%—do not feel they can speak freely to the media about their work, even after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government eased restrictions on what they can say publicly, according to a survey released by a union that represents more than 16,000 federal scientists. [ScienceInsider]
Editorial

With the second phase of Brexit negotiations approaching, scientists in the United Kingdom are urging their government to clarify its position on funding agreements and migration of research talent after the country separates from the European Union in March 2019. [ScienceInsider]
Editorial

The first big test for the cohort of science candidates comes on 6 March, when Texas holds the nation’s first primary elections. Several candidates are running to become Democratic nominees in that Lone Star state’s House districts. [ScienceInsider]
Editorial